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Student News: December 2017

Dear Students,

As the fall semester comes to a close, I'd like to thank you for your hard work this semester and wish you good luck on your finals.

Throughout the semester I've had the opportunity to meet with each class on both campuses and hear your concerns, wishes and expectations for the curriculum and the college. I have also met with alumni around the state and our own faculty to get their feedback as well.

I will share what I have heard and outline next steps at a Listening Session sometime during spring semester. I will let you know the details as soon as they're confirmed. I hope you will join me if your schedule allows.

I hope you enjoy a relaxing winter break, and I look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Happy Holidays,Lynda S. WelageDean

KUDOS

Steven Just, PD2, is featured in The Bark story, "UMD pharmacy student elected AISES national student representative."

PHI LAMBDA SIGMA

Phi Lambda Sigma, the national leadership society for the College of Pharmacy, is currently reviewing applications for those who were nominated by PLS members. Interviews will take place in January. PLS will hold quorum and the selected applicants will join PLS after the formal induction ceremony this spring semester.

Please keep nominating your peers using our Kudos form. We appreciate the hard work and professionalism shown by our peers and want to recognize them. The nominees will be posted on the Kudos board by the student lounge. Please stop by and learn about the great work your colleagues are doing throughout the College of Pharmacy!

During the fall semester, PLS has successfully hosted several leadership breakfast and lunch stories. The final breakfast story for the fall semester occurred on Nov. 28, followed by a lunch lecture about letters of intent led by Dr. Todd Sorensen.

"Our Leadership Breakfast Story successfully engages students in the profession of pharmacy. Our speakers help students realize their potential in pharmacy by highlighting their past successes, past failures, and future aspirations. Going forward, I'm eager to hear more from speakers and thoughtful leaders in the future about their passion for the pharmacy profession,"said our leadership breakfast coordinator (TC), Lindsey Samera (PD2).

In Duluth, we heard about the leadership journeys of Sarah Patton (PD3) and Caitlin Pederson (PD2). Our speakers talked about how their interest in leadership started and how their leadership styles have continued to evolve throughout pharmacy school.

KAPPA PSI

Our chapter initiated 35 new brothers into Kappa Psi! We had our initiation to welcome them into drug families by playing games and having a potluck.

Our November calendar was also filled with events like STI talks at nearby high schools, a walking taco fundraiser, a Ronald McDonald Cooks for Events event, fundraising for CARE for Haiti by bagging groceries at Cub, and a Thanksgiving potluck at our GCD Dr. Sandy Johnson's house!

THE TLC INITIATIVE

Kappa Epsilon has started a very exciting initiative with the Theresa Living Center. The Theresa Living Center is a transitional home for women/infants in St. Paul that helps homeless women with becoming self-sufficient. Kappa Epsilon visits the Theresa Living Center once a month where we talk about medication adherence and provide educational talks on topics such as postpartum depression. One of the goals of this initiative is to help promote the role of a pharmacist to this community. Kappa Epsilon has visited the Theresa Living Center three times and is excited to see where this initiative takes them.

PHI DELTA CHI - DULUTH (BETA PSI CHAPTER)

Phi Delta Chi - Beta Psi is proud to announce the initiation of 10 new Brothers on Nov. 4.

Alumni and brothers, please save the date for our first Alumni Service and Social Event on Wednesday, Dec. 16. We will start the morning at Feed My Starving Children in Eagan at 9 a.m. and host a networking event at Indeed Brewery from 12-3 p.m. Watch for more details in the near future. Contact Megan Olander (olan0051@d.umn.edu) with questions.

The Beta Psi Chapter, along with our wonderful advisor, Karen Bastienelli, are looking forward to a weekend of fun at the 11th annual Duluth Pharmacy Bonspiel! This event takes place Jan. 12 and 13 at the Superior Curling Club. The theme of the event is Superheros and Villains. PDX - Beta Psi will host a pizza fundraiser at the event and will also have order forms for our upcoming clothing order. Contact Karen Bastienelli (bast0067@d.umn.edu) with questions.

MINNESOTA PHARMACY STUDENT ALLIANCE

Throughout November MPSA hosted general meetings featuring Dr. Zach Rivers who discussed Precision Medicine within Oncology on Nov. 2; Dr. Kris Christiansen discussed how pharmacists can intervene with conversations about sexual health on Nov. 9; PD2 students Joe Corbino and Seojung Kang discussed their experiences with World Congress 2017 in Seoul, Korea on Nov. 16; and Dr. Sarah Sidler discussed how we can provide services for our patients with diabetes (in honor of National Diabetes Month) on Nov. 30.

IPhO held a meeting with chapter advisor Julie Baker to discuss her pharmacy journey. On Nov. 15, SCOA held their annual Great American Smokeout Education booth that focused on educating faculty and students of the UMD campus. On Nov. 21, MPSA hosted a dual-campus internship roundtables session featuring 14 different internships throughout the Twin Cities and Duluth areas.

Throughout the month on Tuesdays and Thursdays, ASHP hosted a Spotlight on Residency Series that allows students to connect with residency programs in an intimate setting.

The MPhA Town Hall was held in conjunction with the monthly Duluth Area Pharmacists meeting on Nov. 7. Participants got to hear from Buck Humphrey and learned how to get more involved in policy and address their legislators.

On Nov. 14, IPSF arranged an American Red Cross Blood Drive that was open to anyone on the UMD campus. MSHP members also attended the monthly Arrowhead meeting which had Dr. Heather Blue speaking about the opioid epidemic and how pharmacists can get involved. IPhO and AMCP co-hosted Richard Shneur to speak about his experience as a current fellow at Eli Lilly on Nov. 20. Operation Mental Health hosted a movie night on Nov. 21 to spark a discussion regarding pharmacists' roles in addressing mental health care. Women's Health Initiative started a drive for feminine hygiene products to be donated to The Needs Closet.

On Nov. 30, ASHP hosted a Women in Leadership Panel with a well-distinguished CoP faculty panel to discuss gender disparities in leadership in the profession of pharmacy. NCPA hosted an information session regarding their Business Plan Competition on Nov. 27.

ACCP hosted a journal club discussion led by PD3 Kenett Winters regarding rivaroxaban vs. aspirin for secondary prevention, and apixaban vs. warfarin in renally impaired patients. In Duluth, ACCP and ASCP held a joint case study night facilitated by Karla Marz that focused on insomnia.

Finally, MPSA as a whole participated in a friendly competition with MPSO, Kappa Psi, and Kappa Epsilon to fundraise sock donations for the Socks n' Sandwiches initiative.

The Children's Health Initiative Project (CHIP) held a children's health fair at Lowell Elementary in Duluth that provided numerous activities such as making stress balls, making a healthy plate, and learning about asthma and ways to get active. Operation Heart partnered with MPSO to deliver cholesterol checks at the Brian Coyle Center on Nov. 20. Throughout the month, MPSA partnered with Cub Pharmacy and SuperValu to provide wellness checks, including blood glucose and cholesterol checks.

SAVE THE DATE FOR PHARMACY LEGISLATIVE DAY FEB. 27

Minnesota Pharmacy Legislative Day is one of our most popular advocacy and educational events all year. Mark your calendar for Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018.

Watch for more details soon.

FACULTY IN THE NEWS

Our faculty regularly share their expertise with news media on a variety of topics. Here are a couple recent news stories:

Dr. Sarah Westberg was featured in the Drug Topics story, "Late Menopause May Link to Reduced Risk of Diabetes."

Dr. Chester Whitley was featured in the TIME magazine story, "Scientists Have Made Their First Attempt at Gene Editing Inside a Human Patient."

March 1Our Future is Aging - Interprofessional Conference on Healthcare for Older Adults, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Continuing Education and Conference Center, St. Paul campus. Enhance your knowledge and competencies in providing care to older adults as part of the interprofessional team to improve health outcomes. Cost is $50 for students. Learn more and register